UPDATE 4:03 p.m. ET: The House of Representatives will not vote Monday on any potential fiscal cliff deal, meaning the U.S. is technically headed over the fiscal cliff. The House will wrap up Monday around 6:30 p.m. ET. After a House GOP Conference meeting at 5 p.m. ET they will have one vote series and then head out for the evening.

Washington (CNN) - House GOP sources told CNN the House is increasingly unlikely to vote on any fiscal cliff package until New Year's Day, after the midnight deadline and after tax rates have technically already gone up.

The reason is partly about process, but the benefit is political.FULL POST

(CNN) - President Barack Obama said Monday "it appears that an agreement to prevent" the fiscal cliff tax hike for Americans "is within sight, but it's not done."

The agreement would extend tax credits for families with children, for tuition, and for clean energy companies, the president said at a White House event, adding that it would also extend unemployment insurance.FULL POST

(CNN) - Two-thousand-thirteen promises to be an interesting political year - with two governors races that will be closely watched, the very real possibility of another special Senate election in Massachusetts, a possible debate in Washington over immigration reform as the political clout of Latinos continues to grow, and a planned push by Democrats for gun control measures.

New York (CNNMoney) - The fiscal cliff hasn't been reached yet, but it has already affected the nation's economy.

Economists say some key aspects of the economy - particularly those affecting consumer and business spending - have been weakened by worries about the fiscal cliff negotiations. But they say the damage is relatively small so far, well short of the new recession that so many feared. Improvements in home and auto sales, as well as job creation, have tempered the decline up to now.

(CNN) - Congress entered the final hours of negotiations Monday before the year-end deadline to reach a fiscal cliff agreement and avoid a combination of major tax increases and automatic spending cuts.

After Congressional leaders struck a deal with the White House late Monday night, the Senate approved a version of the bill in the early hours of Tuesday morning. The House reconvenes Tuesday at noon and will review the bill.

Check back here for the latest developments on Capitol Hill as lawmakers hustle to avert a situation that experts say could throw the economy into crisis.

2:30 a.m. ET - President Obama releases a statement on the Senate vote.

"While neither Democrats nor Republicans got everything they wanted, this agreement is the right thing to do for our country and the House should pass it without delay

"This agreement will also grow the economy and shrink our deficits in a balanced way – by investing in our middle class, and by asking the wealthy to pay a little more.

"What's more, today's agreement builds on previous efforts to reduce our deficits. Last year, I worked with Democrats and Republicans to cut spending by more than $1 trillion. Tonight’s agreement does even more by asking millionaires and billionaires to begin to pay their fair share for the first time in twenty years. As promised, that increase will be immediate, and it will be permanent."

Washington (CNN) - Republican negotiators attempting to broker a deal to avoid the year-end fiscal cliff are asking for a three-month delay to the across-the-board spending cuts known as the "sequester," according to a Democratic source.

The source said Democrats are pushing for at least a year delay to the cuts.

Said a second Democratic source: "The emerging deal that creates another cliff in three months can't pass."

Washington (CNN) – Sen. Tom Harkin, a veteran Democrat and a leading liberal voice, told CNN Monday that he and other Democrats may try to block the fiscal cliff deal that's being furiously negotiated ahead of the year-end deadline.